Episode Nine: Supply and Demand

Previously

Jessica told Lauren that she had been raped. An angry Michael rushed over to the Elliott house and attacked Tommy accusing him of raping Jessica. David threw Michael out of the house and Tommy vowed to get revenge on the rapist. Cassie argued with Jake over his disinterest in Jessica's situation. However she did not realise that he was still planning revenge after finding out about her affair with Guy. Lauren got caught in a battle when she defied Julia and took Jessica to see Tommy.

Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley

Jessica sits quietly on the patio and watches the water travelling through the pool. This is the only place she feels safe. The police still haven’t caught…him and where ever she goes, all she feels is fear. At least Tommy reacted well. He didn’t think she was disgusting…maybe she was the only one who couldn’t shake off that feeling. And he didn’t try to touch her. She couldn’t have bared it if he touched her. She looks inside the house. Unusually early, the maids are putting up the Christmas decorations led by a stern and rigorous Pilar.

"No! That go over there!" she yells in her broken English. "If Miss Lauren see this she shoot you. What mess." She shakes her head disapprovingly and for the first time in days Jessica smiles. It beats crying.

Wheeler Corporation: San Francisco

The corner office is filled with sunlight as Michael enters.

"Not exactly like winter is it?" he comments, surveying Lauren at her desk. She is crossing out entries in her diary. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Lauren looks up to see her smiling brother. "Oh sorry. I’m…um…cancelling my appointments this afternoon. I have to take Jessica to her support group."

"You’re doing it?"

"Yeah. Julia was…how did she put it? Yes she was ‘otherwise engaged’. I don’t get her attitude."

"Maybe she’s jealous."

"What of?"

"The fact that you are helping Jessica through this. Maybe she feels pushed out."

Lauren shakes her head to get the hair out of her face, "No. I don’t think so. She’s just being herself."

"Well at least you’re helping. If these support meetings keep working, we might have a happy Christmas this year. Now that the family are all back together."

"But we’re not. Douglas is dead, so is Dad and well…mother is god knows where. She didn’t even come back for her son’s funeral."

"She called."

"Wow. Real commitment. Even if she did come back, I wouldn’t hang around for the reunion."

Michael stares at her, "I never knew what your problem was with her."

"Forget it. It’s in the past…where it belongs."

Tuscedero Apartments: Napa Valley

It took a serious dip in her savings to be able to afford the rent on this place but to Morgan it is worth it. She surveys the as yet, unmoved boxes that she had shipped in from LA and throws herself down on the couch with a tired groan. But before she can make herself too comfortable, there is a knock at the door and she answers it. Mark pushes past her.

"What are you doing here?" she asks timidly.

"To see you obviously. You still have that tape and it’s been weeks since we even met. What are you doing with it?"

"I told you. Keeping it."

Mark loses his temper, "But why are you blackmailing me with it when you haven’t even told me what you want from me."

Because Julia wants to wait until just the right moment before she sends it to you. "I wouldn’t call it blackmail. Just…fun."

"Well I don’t find it fun. You are really pissing me off Morgan, you know that?"

She picks up an apple from her fruit bowl and bites into it, "I can imagine."

"So why don’t you just give the tape to me."

"Yeah. Like that’s going to happen." She places the apple down and walks over to him, tracing her finger around his lips. "You sure you won’t want a rematch?"

He backs against the wall to escape her, breathing heavily. "No…no I don’t."

She kisses him and as she predicted, he responds. It seems to last forever until Mark finally pushes her away. "Get off me." He says disgusted, wiping her lipstick from his mouth.

"Okay." She turns and takes another bite from the apple. "Your loss."

"We’ll just see about that." Mark opens the door and storms out.

Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley

Julia runs up the staircase to escape Pilar’s regime in the kitchen and hears her private phone ringing in the bedroom. She shuts the door and answers it.

"Hello?"

"Mrs Wheeler. It’s Detective Chamberlain at the precinct. We found your daughter’s rapist last night and pulled him in."

Julia feels a sharp intake of breath, "Thanks for informing me already. Now do what I’m paying you for. Make him confess."

"We already did. He was meant to face Judge Steinberg in the morning but it didn’t go according to plan."

"What do you mean?"

"The guy killed himself in his cell earlier this morning."

Julia grabs the phone and almost wrenches it out of the socket, "You’re telling me that you let that bastard…that rapist get away with it?"

"I wouldn’t exactly say he got away with it Mrs Wheeler."

"Well I do! I do! But at least now he is out of the way. For good." She slams the phone down and looks up to see Jessica leaning against the door in her nightgown. Her hair hangs loosely around her face and lines appear underneath her eyes.

"What was all the shouting about?" she asks wearily.

"Sit down." Julia orders and pulls Jessica to sit down next to her on the bed. "I just got a call from a detective I know in San Francisco."

Jessica panics, "What? What’s wrong?"

"Nothing. Well not now anyway. They caught the guy who did it Jessica. They caught the guy who raped you." Jessica flinches as her mother continues, "But he committed suicide this morning."

Jessica flings a hand to her mouth and pulls away from her mother. "What? Oh my god. I don’t know what to say."

"Aren’t you pleased?"

"Pleased?" Jessica loses her voice in disbelief; "I’m not pleased! Not only is he dead but he won’t suffer for what he did to me!"

"At least you’re safe now."

"I don’t feel it."

"You are. I won’t let anyone hurt you again sweetheart. Now…don’t you have a support meeting to go to in half an hour?"

"Yes. Lauren is picking me up."

"Then I suggest you take a shower and get changed. I think it will do you good to go. These sessions have been helping you for the past few weeks haven’t they?"

"Yeah. It hurts…but I know it’s doing me good."

"Just want I want to hear. Now go and have a shower. I’ll keep an eye out for Lauren."

"Okay." Jessica moves slowly, steadying herself against the wall of the corridor for support. Meanwhile, Julia stares around the room unable to focus. She needs to leave. Maybe she should go and visit Jake.

Sauntering down stairs, she brushes past a newly arrived Lauren on the stairway. Lauren grabs her arm, "Where are you going?"

"Over to see Jake."

"You don’t want to come to the support meeting then."

"You’ve already done such a ‘wonderful’ job helping my daughter. I’m sure she’d rather have you there."

Lauren pulls Julia to the side of the stairs by her arm and the pair wait for a few seconds as Pilar rushes up the stairs with a bag of glittering Christmas decorations. "Don’t be bitter." Lauren whispers.

"I’m not. Now let go of me. Jessica’s upstairs." Julia pulls away from Lauren’s grasp and grabbing her purse from a console table, walks out of the front door.

Wheeler Corporation: San Francisco

Jake looks at a photo of Cassie on his desk and knocks it aside, narrowly avoiding breaking the glass. Whilst he sits somberly, ignoring the pile of Austin Morell’s business plans on his desk, the phone begins to ring, breaking the fragile silence. He picks it up and presses the speakerphone.

"Good afternoon Mr. Wheeler."

Who is it? "Can I help you?"

"I think so. I’m representing an organization you may be familiar with. The Delta Group. We did business with your father for several months before his…death." The man’s voice sounds almost computerized.

"That has nothing to do with me." Are these the people who murdered Nick Remick?

"Oh but it has. We have been trying to get in touch with you ever since your aunt came to New York. You’re a hard man to get hold of."

"I’ve been sick."

"I’m so sorry to hear that. But let’s cut to the chase. Your company owes us three million dollars."

Jake’s temper flares, "What the hell for?" he demands contemptuously.

"Our services. We were very helpful to your father. A great source of…information. And for that he owed us money. I hope you can tie up the loose ends."

Jake looks around. He can see that his assistant is not at her desk and Lauren has left for the day to take care of Jessica. No one is listening in. "What kind of information?"

"Very interesting information."

"And you want three million dollars."

"You’re catching on. Perhaps we should meet. But first we want the money."

"I can get it for you. I’ll transfer it through financial services. I believe that’s how my father used to do it."

"That’s really your problem. We just want the money. I’ll call back later. Perhaps we can arrange the meeting. Goodbye Mr Wheeler."

Before Jake can reply, he is cut off. What a bizarre conversation, he thinks to himself. But if that organization was really as useful as they made out to be…they could have so many uses.

Hartman Women’s Institute: San Francisco

The room smells faintly of disinfectant and cheap coffee. Just as Lauren remembers…Jessica is trailing behind, nervous at having another meeting with all these people. Around twenty familiar women are littered around the hall, talking to each other whilst sipping from Styrofoam cups.

"You okay?" Lauren prods her niece.

"Yeah."

The leader of the group, Anita Hartman, claps her hands. She is a small woman in her early forties with short red hair. The grand daughter of the original founder, her mere presence is able to reassure many women.

"Please take your seats." The women place their cups down and move to the circle of plastic chairs that have been set out in the middle of the room.

Jessica and Lauren listen intently as the horrors of so many women come to light. There are stories of marital rape, date rape…everything that nightmares are made of. But somehow, sitting in this group, Jessica no longer sees them as nightmares. Because each woman tells her story with strength and gives the hope that Jessica has needed to bring her through the ordeal. Eventually, Anita focuses her attentions to Jessica. "What about you Jessica? Have you had any thoughts since the last meeting."

Jessica clears her throat before responding, "Actually I receive some news. My…rapist was caught by the police." She wonders whether to continue, "And he killed himself earlier this morning."

The room stays silent. There are no groans of surprise as Lauren had anticipated. No one says anything until Anita interjects. "And how do you feel about that?"

"Relieved. Angry. Maybe even a little sorry that his family had to go through it. But I feel guilty about being relieved. I mean…he’s dead." Lauren grabs Jessica’s hand.

"He made the choice." Another woman speaks up. She is thin and middle-aged with shoulder length brown hair. "He didn’t have to kill himself. He just obviously couldn’t face the punishment."

Anita turns back to Jessica, "Do you agree with that?"

"In a way. I know that most rapists never stop until someone forces them to. Now he’s dead, I suppose it could stop the same thing from happening to other people."

"You may be right." Anita replies.

Elliott House: San Francisco

The house is empty as David runs up the stairs with Tommy’s Christmas present. He may be a teenager but David still feels the need to hide it from him.

There is no sound in the bedroom apart from a couple of children walking past the house outside and David approaches the closet, finding the perfect but predictable space to hide Tommy’s new watch. As David reaches up, his hand nudges something and dust springs out into his face like a jet of water. What is it? He reaches back further and pulls out the object. The shoebox he has found is so battered that the contents fall out onto the bed next to him.

David gasps when he sees them. News cuttings. All about Angela’s disappearance. They are fifteen years old but look like new. One of them has a picture of her. But not as David remembers. When he thinks of her, he remembers the bloodshot eyes, the broken neck and Stephanie’s maniacal laughter filling his ears. It all comes back to him.

Next to these cuttings is a leather journal, which David takes out to read. He has no respect for his wife’s privacy. He has no respect for her period.

The long, detailed entries end in 1985. Despite the relatively short length of the journal, the earliest entry dates back to 1968. Only the most important details of Stephanie’s life have been entered. But it is the first one that catches his eye. This is his prize find. Turning the pages quickly, he continues to scan the handwriting until he gets to the final paragraph, which reads:

Today was the most confusing day of my life. Mom and Dad brought me home from school together. I wondered why but they just sat me down in the den and handed me a pile of papers. It took me a little while to realize what was going on. But then I realized. I am adopted.

David flings the diary and cuttings carelessly into the box and looks at his watch. Stephanie will be back from the airport any minute with her ‘parents’. Robert and Leslie Grainger will be staying for the Christmas holidays. Oh what fun this will be.

Next time on Power and Deception

Jake meets with a cartel representative...

David hits Robert and Leslie with the secret about Stephanie's parentage...

Jake has a job for Morgan...

Guy enlists Cassie in his revenge plan against Julia...

Morgan receives a scare...

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